Splat on a wall

Visual art isn’t just the stuff hanging high on museum walls, far from human interaction. Art has outgrown its canvas; it’s poked its way into cracks and crevices. It’s the pictures slapped onto garbage cans, etched onto shop walls, and plastered on bus stops.

Like elsewhere around the world, this generation of artists continues to push the envelope regarding the media they make use of.

According to purists, graffiti is strictly defined as writing that is etched or sprayed on public spaces, whereas pictures and illustrations are thought of as street art. But today the two terms are used almost interchangeably. The fusion of these varied art forms was quite natural.

In recent years, artists realized galleries are no longer the place for art, and that the street is the contemporary place for expression. It speaks to a wider audience. From cave paintings to the murals of Mexico’s Diego Riviera, who painted enormous murals in public spaces, but, admittedly, was commissioned by governments to do so, public art serves the population.

In Fresno at least it brings a neighborhood together. We’ll examine those cracks and crevices of art, murals, history and even taste our way through the Cultural Art District (aka Mural District) on Saturday morning. You can come along by getting your tickets at www.AboutTownTaste.com